1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in a secondary cooling device for a horizontal continuous casting apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been known that, in horizontal continuous casting procedures, ingots are subjected to primary water cooling, air cooling and secondary water cooling, in order to stably carry out the casting procedures.
An example of the conventional ingot casting procedures is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In FIG. 4, reference numerals 1, 2 and 3 indicate a tundish, an orifice plate and a cooling mold, respectively. Melt 4 flows into the cooling mold 3 through the orifice plate 2 and is cooled by cooling water which is introduced into a cooling water inlet port 5, passed through a cooling water passageway 6 and, then, discharged from a cooling water nozzle 7. In such manner, an ingot 8 is formed. Cooling water adsorbed on the surface of the ingot 8 is removed by a wiper 10 attached onto the end of a support 9 which is secured to the cooling mold 3. Subsequently, the ingot 8 is passed through an air cooling zone and is subjected to secondary cooling using a secondary cooling nozzle 11. The secondary cooling nozzle 11 is a split type, as shown in FIG. 5, and is so designed that it is movable back and forth on both sides of the ingot 8 through a bracket 12a secured onto a heat insulating wall 12.
In the aforementioned conventional continuous casting apparatus, the wiper 10 is premounted. Therefore, when a problem arises, replacement of the wiper 10 requires troublesome operations. Further, since the half parts of the secondary cooling nozzle 11 are disposed individually on the opposite sides of the ingot 8, it is difficult to locate the secondary cooling nozzle 11 concentrically with the ingot 8 and cooling tends to be nonuniform. Further, when sliding of the secondary cooling nozzle 11 is required, the sliding operation should be effected on both sides of the ingot 8. Therefore, two workers are needed at the same time or, when the sliding is effected by one worker, the worker firstly carries it out on one side of the ingot 8 and then goes to the other side. Therefore, the sliding operation is not only laborious but also very dangerous.